How often should I worm my cat or dog

Vets recommend worming at least every 3 months.

Veterinarians recommend that adult dogs and cats living in the house should be wormed at least four times a year for optimal protection. Worming is mainly done against roundworms and tapeworms. When dogs and cats are dewormed it always only affects the worms that are then in the intestines of the animal. These worms will come out after one day to two days with the faeces. Unfortunately there are no de-worming products that also kill the worms at the moment they are ingested. It is always afterwards, therefore it is important to worm the animals where you actually see worms in the stools again with 3 weeks. This is necessary because the wandering larvae of roundworms often survive and later grow back into adult worms.

We worm puppies and kittens much more often.

For puppies and kittens there is a completely different deworming scheme. They have to be dewormed more often because they are already infected with worms in the womb (pups) or through breast milk (pups and kittens). Pups have a different worming schedule than kittens, but the frequency is the same. Pups at 2, 4, 6, 8 weeks of age, then monthly until the age of 6 months. From half a year they switch to 1 x every 3 months, just like adult dogs. Kittens start deworming at 3 weeks of age and then they are dewormed at 5 weeks, 7 weeks, 9 weeks, 12 weeks of age and monthly until the age of 6 months . From the age of six months they change to 1 x per 3 months, just like adult cats and dogs.

All pets worm 4 times a year or more often?

These are of course average numbers, but in case of an infection worming is more common. In addition, there are areas where, for example, fox tapeworms occur or dogs and cats where for other reasons it is wise to worm more often. These are for example hunting dogs, dogs that eat raw meat, cats that catch a lot of prey and so on. Your vet can give you the best advice.

When you don't want to worm too often, how does it work?

There are also people who prefer not to worm at all, then we recommend to have the stool checked at the vet according to the above schedule for worm eggs. The number of worm eggs gives an indication if there are worms present and which worms they are. The veterinarian then uses the worm count to indicate whether it is necessary to have the dog or cat dewormed.